The Cabrini men’s lacrosse team defeated Colonial States Athletic Conference rival Shenandoah University 25-4 on Saturday, April 10. The win extended the team’s NCAA Division III- best conference to 75 games.
Before the game the three senior players, Casey Grugan, Rich Romanelli and Steve Kapp, were honored for their commitment on the field over the past four years.
“Each of the guys brought so much to the team both on and off the field. They have worked so hard these past four years and will continue to help us win for the remainder of the season,” Anthony Mazza, junior midfielder, said.
Playing their final regular season home game, the seniors each had at least one point against Shenandoah on Saturday. Romanelli tallied two points, Kapp had two goals and two assists, while Grugan assisted with seven points. Grugan now holds the longest active Division III streak in the country, with at least one point for 69 consecutive games.
“It feels great to be recognized as one of the top players in lacrosse. I just really want to help lead our team to the national championship,” Grugan said.
Grugan is not the only player with the hopes of a national championship. Everyone on the team determined to be the best on the field and they proved it on Saturday. By the end of the first quarter the Cavs had a 7-0 lead.
“We knew that if we wanted to get ahead early on it was important to go out on the field and be productive offensive and defensively,” Steve Heaps, junior midfielder, said.
17 of Cabrini’s offensive players had at least one point during the game against Shenandoah. Juniors Jordan Coeyman, Paul Skulski and Dan Terenick each had two goals. Freshman midfielder Charlie Haugh also had two goals in the fourth quarter, while teammate Andrew Protenic had one goal and two assists.
The Cavaliers won the face-off battle 15-of-29 attempts at the X with the help of junior Mike Gurenlian and Joe Strain.
“It was a great opportunity for everyone to get playing time and get valuable game experience. Its hard to get everyone playing time because of how big our team is so seeing everyone get in was a lot of fun,” Ross Salese, sophomore defenseman, said.
By the end of the second quarter the Cavs were ahead 21-1. Going into the final half, sophomore Steve Farrell and freshman Kevin Gallagher split time in the goal with each tallying one save.
“Everyone played really well. We have really high expectations for ourselves and want to bring home the NCAA championship,” Heaps said.
The Cavs have won 92 straight contests against conference opponents since the 2001 season. Cabrini will play at Neumann University on Saturday, April 17 at 3 p.m., and then will follow with two other away games to close out the regular season.
